Fought My Way Up to the Top
by usakoberry
Summary: A story of a young Female Shepard's experiences when she first joined the Systems Alliance Navy.


Chapter 1

April 11th, 2172

Today was young Shepard's 18th birthday. She'd been looking forward to this day for years. Not for the usual reasons teenage girls dream of their 18th birthday however. Shepard's childhood was... hard, to say the least. She'd been through a lot. It changed her, and made her tough. Today was the day she would enlist in the Systems Alliance Navy. She'd been preparing for years, and she believed she was more than ready. She grabbed a taxi and made her way to the recruitment center.

The moment she stepped into the waiting room full of big brawny men, she felt all eyes on her. She heard a few scoffs and some hushed whispers. She tried her best to ignore them and put on her mean face, but secretly wanted to yell, _**I'll fight anyone in this room!**_ What felt like hours went by before, "Shepard!" her name was called by and older, tanned and thick woman.

The woman looked her up and down. "Okay honey," she began in a husky voice "I'm Nurse Harold. Let's start your physical." Not to Shepard's surprise she passed the medical tests with flying colors. Next she was introduced to fairly young veteran with a prosthetic leg. He must have only been around 30. His name was Sergeant Lloyd. He recorded her physical tests. Again, she passed them all. Strength, endurance, reflexes, you name it.

"Well," he began "I mean, you passed all the tests, but..."

"But what?" Shepard demanded. She was a pretty little thing but her voice was harsh.

"Well... I saw _today_ is your 18th birthday. I mean, have you thought about this? Being a... young woman. It'll be hard for you." She clenched her jaw and shot him a quick, fierce look before looking down at his prosthetic.

"Looks like it's hard for the men as well as the women, sir." and she walked away into the office to sign up.

The man sitting behind the desk looked like your cliché arrogant and mean military man. He was tanned, had scars on the side of his face, a salt and pepper G.I. Joe haircut and he was smoking a fat cigar. Shepard had to hold back a laugh. He sure didn't hold his back though. "HAAA HAHA! Are you lost!?"

"No Sir." she hissed.

"Well, your funeral! You passed the tests I can't really say _no_." He tossed her test results on the desk as he sat back in his comfy looking office chair. "There's a few things you should know first, girly. Now-"

"With all due respect." She interrupted. She wanted to jump over the desk and shove that cigar down his throat, but figured her chances of getting recruited just might drop to zero if she did. "You have no idea what I'm capable of!" She stated in the most professional tone she could muster. "S-sir." She almost forgot to add that bit.

"Whoa okay!" He held his hands up in a surrendering gesture and laughed. "Just let me warn ya. As a woman, you'll get no special treatment, You'll run the same obstacle courses as the men, eat the same food, sleep in the same barracks and... use the same showers."

"I am aware, sir."

"Now if another boy gives you trouble, feel free to tell your drill Sergeant and he ca-"

"I can handle myself, sir." _Just give me the damn paperwork._ She thought

"Ha!" He almost sounded impressed. He tossed over the form for her to sign and proceeded to sign his approval. "Well, kid. Good luck."

"I don't need luck, sir," She stood up straight and tall.

"you've got spunk! I'll give you that!" He bellowed. Shepard managed a salute and quickly walked out.

She joined the rest of the recruits in the last step of the process. Sergeant Lloyd gave a little inspirational speech and told them to be on the shuttle Monday at 06:00. As the recruits walked out of the room to leave he glanced at Shepard. She caught him and looked back. She couldn't tell what his face was portraying. Anger? Intimidation?... Attraction? Maybe all three. She smirked, and he quickly looked away. _Fuckin' men._ She thought.

April 15th, 2172

Shepard arrived at the shuttle bay at 5:30am in hopes of getting a seat in the back. Only three other recruits were there and they were all sitting in the front talking about "blowin' stuff up." and "Killin' aliens." and "HOORAH!" As she walked past they all went silent. She could actually _hear_ them shift in their seats to watch her. She turned around and stared daggers at them before sitting down. For the next few minutes it was all whispers. _I expected this much. Most of these "men" are only 18-20. some of them are still in high school._ It just made her look forward to surpassing them all.

The shuttle doors started closing at 6:05am. "Wait!" a recruit yelled from outside and stuck half his body in the closing doors.

"Dammit, kid. Tryina hurt yerself?" The grizzly old driver snapped.

"I ain't afraid of getting hurt!" The arrogance in his voice was palpable. Shepard figured his good looks gave him that arrogance. He was tall. Must've been almost 6'5". He had dark blond hair, blue eyes and a face that looked like it was carved by Aphrodite. She didn't plan on making any friends or sparking any romance, but she knew a good looking man when she saw one. No harm in looking, even if he is a dick. He immediately looked over at her. He smiled this pretty-boy half smile and walked over to the seat next to her. "Well, not many seats left." He began. "Cool if I sit here?" Shepard gave a quick nod, without even looking at him. He gracefully sat down propping one arm up on the side of the seat. "I'm Nathan. Nathan Charleston." He held out his hand.

"Shepard." She firmly gripped it and pulled her hand away quickly.

"Haha. What's your _first_ name?" Again with the pretty boy smile.

"We're military recruits now. _Just_ Shepard."

"Wow, your voice _so_ doesn't match you! It's kinda badass, Shepard." He laughed "I, uh, admire your dedication." He seemed shocked she didn't immediately jump into his arms. "So why'd _you_ join? I wanted to piss off my Dad! Haha. Besides, I'm athletic enough!" He flexed. Shepard let out an exasperated sigh.

"Sorry, Charleston, but I'm not in the mood to small talk. I want to stay focused. Hope you _understand_." She said the last part like she was talking to a child. He managed an arrogant smile. _She's just playing hard to get._ He thought to himself.

"Alright Shepard, fair enough. Just so you know though, the other chick here looks like she's sizing you up!" He gestured his head in her direction. She was one mean looking Amazon woman. Short hair, tattoos, and _built._ She reminded Shepard of the character Vasquez in that super old movie, Aliens. Shepard always liked Vasquez. "But hey." Charleston snapped Shepard out of her thoughts. "I got your back if you got mine!"

When they arrived they all lined up to meet the big bad drill Sergeant. He was a _huge_ bearded ginger. Looked like he could crush a man's skull between his forearm and bicep. "Well, well, good morning you little shites! I'm Sergeant McDougall!" He yelled in a thick Scottish accent. A couple recruits snickered. He walked up to one of them and got in his face. "Think ma name's funni boi?" His accent seemed to get thicker with the anger.

"Sorry Si-" McDougall grabbed the boy and dragged him over and slammed him into the other guy who laughed. "Let's see wot you two got! Whichever of you cunts loses does 100 push ups!" The two recruits got in a pathetic fight that looked to Shepard like a drunken bar brawl. No skill, no wits, just brute strength. _Only Krogans can get away with fighting like_ _that._ She thought. The fight didn't last long. "Ow! I think my nose is broken!" The first boy gasped.

"Aye boi, that it is. After you do the push ups you can go see the medic." Mcdougall said very matter-of-fact.

"But-"

"The door's over there if you don't think your cot out for the Alliance." The boy grumbled and started doing the push ups. "As for _you._ " He faced the winner. "A hundred set ups."

"What was the point of winning, Sir!?" The other boy asked. His tone was at least professional.

"A hundred and twenty set ups." McDougall said. The other boy grimaced and began. "Now lesten up! These are the rules. Depending on the severity of your actions, if you break them you can be expelled! No fightin', unless I tell ya to! No fraternizin'! No complainin'! No sleepin' in!" He went on for a minute. Most of the rules were common sense. He then explained they would all be broken up into squads of five, and in a week's time a leader would be selected for each squad. They got the tour after that.

April 17th, 2172

"Dammit, Shepard! You're only ahead of me is because you're so small! Must be easy to weave through all the obstacles!" A recruit named Wilson laughed in between gasps for air as he scurried up a 8 foot wooden wall. Wilson was one of the men in her squad. Shepard actually didn't mind Wilson. He teased, but she could tell he respected her. He was still ahead of most of the others. He was a tall, lean, mean dark man. He reminded Shepard of one of the ancient African tribal warriors. She respected him as well, and simply responded with a "HA!" When she made it to the end she was in fourth place. Not bad out of twenty, but she still wasn't happy. Ryuu, some agile as all Hell Japanese boy came in first. The only other woman, who turned out to be from Brazil, and named was Cardoso, was in second. Worst of all, Charleston was in third.

"Ryuu, Cardoso, Charles!" McDougall began. (Everybody started calling Charleston Charles. "Charles" _hated_ it.) "Take a break ye three! The rest o' ya! Five laps!" The other recruits groaned. Shepard was disappointed with herself and gladly excepted the extra work out though.

Later in the mess hall as Shepard vacuumed up her gruel as quickly as possible to avoid conversation, Cardoso sat next to her. _I wonder if she's really been sizing me up._ Shepard thought. _Whatever._ "Hey," Cardoso started saying "Shepard, I'm Cardoso." She held out her hand. Shepard shook it. Cardoso had a good, firm grip, but it seemed friendly enough. "I just wanted to say, let's make the female race proud. I'm hoping you'll provide some _real_ competition!" Shepard faced her, pleasantly surprised.

"Hell yeah, Cardoso!" She saluted. Cardoso saluted back, and stood up and walked away. _I bet she's gotten shit for being a woman too, even though she at least looks badass._ Shepard thought.

April 20th, 2172

Shepard stepped into the shower room an hour after lights out. She knew she could get in a little trouble for it, but liked to take a more thorough shower sometimes when all the boys weren't watching. A few minutes later, she heard someone else come in. She jumped a little and spun around to see Cardoso. "You too!?" Cardoso laughed.

"Ha, I'm glad it's you." Shepard sighed. "I don't mind the boys seeing me naked, that's just military life, but..."

"I know. We don't want them to watch us scrub our cooters." Cardoso and Shepard laughed.

 _Cooters?_

April 21st, 2172

Today was the day the squads would all compete for squad leader. Of course their progress up to this point had been recorded and would go toward the decision as well, but today they'd be put into an actual battle simulation with mechs as the enemy. The mechs were only armed with pistols while the recruits got assault rifles, pistols, and shotguns, so the chance of survival was very high. Recruits had died in these simulations before, though.

The team got a minute to talk beforehand. "Shepard, you're definitely the best shot." Wilson stated. "You pick off the ones in the back."

"Good idea Wilson, but if I'm gonna focus on aiming you'd better have my back."

"Always!"

"I have your back too!" Thomson chimed in.

"I dunno Thompson. Are you gonna be okay with hurting the poor mechs?" Walker was making fun of Thompson. They hated each other. Thomson was a pure, wholesome sweetie and Walker was cold, calculating, and sometimes cruel.

"I can shoot mechs! I'm a fairly decent shot, you know! Maybe even better than you!" Thomson pouted.

"Oh you wish! I-"

"ENOUGH." Shepard cut off Walker. "Focus!"

"Anything to add, Adams?" Wilson asked, after a sigh.

"...Do you think I'll die?" Adams meekly whined. Shepard and Wilson sighed and facepalmed.

"Squad 1, line up!" McDougall's voice cut in over the loudspeaker. They were the first to start the sim.

There was a huge bullet-proof room where it would take place. The superiors watched through windows and listened to the squad's headsets. Shepard hated it. She felt like she'd be in a zoo or a dog-fighting ring. She thought the best way to train recruits would to be throw them against real enemies.

She thought about her team members.

 _Wilson can handle himself, and I know he'll have my back._

 _Thomson's most redeeming quality is his heart of gold. The sappy mother fucker might just be useless. Well... he is a decent shot at least. I better keep an eye on him, though._

 _Walker... He's cold as Hell. I definitely don't want him watching my back. I think he'll be fine._

 _Shit... what's that guy's name?... Adams! He'll probably just hide and cry the whole time. Better to just ignore him._

The doors opened up and they stepped inside. It was going smoothly. Not even a minute in and Shepard had already picked off three in the back. Everyone besides Adam's got at least one too. "Adams!" McDougall's voice could be heard on all their headsets. "If you don't kill at least one mech, you're expelled!"

"AHHH!" Adams stood up and fired his rifle blindly in all directions. Literally, his eyes were closed.

" **ADAMS! YOU TRYING TO KILL US!? OR YOURSELF!? STAY DOWN!** " Shepard roared. Suddenly a loud echoing shot was heard. It was unmistakable. A sniper shot. Adams was down.

"Shit! Was that a sniper!?" Wilson yelled

"Stay in cover!" Shepard yelled as she scurried toward Adams. "Our shields are only good enough to block pistol shots! McDougall, what the Hell!?"

"I don't know!" McDougall responded. "A sniper rifle must've been dropped in there during a more advanced simulation! Dammit, get them out!"

"Sir, the doors won't open until all mechs are down. Safety procedure for other recruits in the building. We need somebody to override the system." They could hear some tech guy say in the background. Shepard crawled up to Adams. He was gone. Mech got him right between the eyes.

"Shit... Adams is dead." Her voice was breathy. She somehow felt responsible. _I should've watched out for him! Damn it!_ "Did anyone catch where the shot came from? I was distracted by Adams..." No one else saw either.

"Just stay down." McDougall cut in. "We're finding someone to open the door."

"Sir, it could shoot another one of us! We need to take it down!" She argued. _I'm the fastest. And the smallest._ "Guys, I'm gonna expose it's position. Shoot it." The others began to argue, but before they could say much she jumped and rolled across an open space and behind a crate. It fired at her, and to everyone's surprise it was closer than they thought. They saw it hiding behind a wall to their left. They were barley in cover from it. All four of them fired in it's direction and took it down. The doors opened.

They walked out of them room and Shepard plopped herself on the ground. "I think it's my fault he died." She said quietly.

"What, no!?" Thomson snapped. "You told him to get down! Don't blame yourself, Shepard."

"I was too slow... besides you don't understand. I figured he'd hide the whole time... I wasn't paying much attention to him."

"Not your fault." Wilson plainly said.

"It was his own damn fault!" Walker wasn't really wrong...

"Shepard," McDougall walked in. "You made a good call. That thing had a good position, you were fish in a barrel. You did what I would've done. Would have suggested it meself, but didn't trust recruits with such a risky maneuver... except maybe Ryuu. You proved me wrong. May have saved a life, Shepard. Now stand up, 'nd stop feelin' sorry for yaself! You're alive, ain't ya!?"

"Sir!"

April 22nd, 2172

"Alright, I'm about to announce the squad leaders. Don't wanna hear any whinin. Decision is final. You'll be ronnin laps, mark me words." Everyone intently awaited McDougall's announcement. "Squad one, Shepard! Squad two, Charles! Squad three, Cardoso! Squad Four, Ryuu! Squad five, Larsen!" They all stood in attention trying not to display any emotion. "Alright, go 'head. High five, dance a lil' jig, wotever ya wankstains like to do. Just no whining."

"Alriiight, Shepard." Wilson punched her arm.

"Ha, thanks, Wilson." Other recruits congratulated each other, some obviously pouted or kicked the dirt.

"Excuse me, Sir!" Walker started to say, loud and firm. "Make me run laps, I don't care, but this is bullshit!"

"Wot?" McDougall squinted at him.

"Obviously the fact that two _women_ got the position is... well it's just a politically correct facade, Sir!" Shepard crossed her arms, and Cardoso raised an eyebrow. A few other male recruits mumbled in agreement.

"Excuse me, Sir! I just wanna add... I would've picked Shepard too! Sir." Thomson said, confident at first, but shy once everyone started looking at him.

"Same here." Wilson nodded at Thomson.

"And I would've picked Cardoso!" Some guy on her squad added.

"Walker you arse. Listen! Maybe in the 1900's gender mattered when men beat each other with sticks! We have energy shields, and laser gons now! Don't matter the one shootin ya' got a twat between 'er legs! Now, laps!"

"Sir! I'm glad I got to speak my mind regardless! And I'm glad others see the truth! How many laps, Sir!?"

"'Til I sey stop. I hope ya can run as much as ya talk. Holy Mother Mary. Squad leaders, you stay behind. Everyone else, dismissed!" After everyone else left and Walker was about half a lap in he began talking again. "First of all, don't get a big head! Being a leader of a recruit squad means shite in the long-run. Second, you get your first field trip tomorrow. You'll be fightin' a real hostile. Some robot that took out a landlord and a group of policemen." It wasn't customary to have recruits engage actual hostiles as training until about 2160, but Shepard liked it. Figured they could actually do some good. "Here's the details..."


End file.
